Henry frederick farrar sedgwick



H. F. F. SEDGWICK.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, 1918.

1 ,306, 1 26. Patented June 10, 1919.

j i a, $70 -x Bending-lvlachines, of which the following rrnn STATES PATENT uric.

HENRY FREDERICK FARRAR SEDGWICK, OF MILLWALL, LONDON, ENGLAND.

BEN DING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filed March 6, 1918. Serial No. 220,840.

England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to is a specification.

This invention has reference to machines for bending metal sheets and for like purposes, and relates more particularly to an improved construction of machine having a table comprising one or more movable 0r hinged flaps on which the sheet or piece of work is laid and by which it is bent up around the edge of a clamping rail.

)ne object of the invention is to enable sheets or plates to bebent' up to practically any desired angle, on one or both sides.

To this end the parts may be so arranged that when the movable flap, or each flap, is raised there is always suflicient space between it and the clamping rail or presser bar, to accommodate the thickness of the metal sheet or plate. In this way strains and damage to the machine, such as are liable to occur where such space or clearance is not provided for, are entirely obviated. That is to say the metal at the angle, although it may be say a quarter or half an inch or more in thickness, is not nipped or compressed between the edge of the flap and the clamping rail, but is simply bent around the latter.

A feature of the invention consists in an improved hinging arrangement for the movable flap or flaps, capable of holding the same securely even when considerably raised and standing more or less on edge.

A further feature of the invention consists in so arranging the hinges or pivots that the flaps turn on axial or center lines which are slightly separated, the distance of the said axial lines being a little more than double the thickness of the thickest sheet or heaviest work which the machine is intended to deal with.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be had by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which Figure 1 is a transverse section of one construction of the improved machine having the improved hinging arrangements.

Fig. 2 is a part plan view of the hinging arrangements.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a stationary and a movable member of the hinge.

Fig. l: is a transverse section on the line of Fig. 3 showing three adjacent hinge blocks slightly separated for the sake of clea-rness.

In the example illustrated, a and o are the, movable portions or table flaps which are supported by end frames or pedestals 6 They are arranged so that their adjacent edges lie under orv parallel with an adjustable presserbar b. l

The said movable flaps a a are worked by segmental gearing or toothed quadrants 0 connected to their undersides and projecting downward and inward as shown. They are operated by pinions e driven from a gear-train such as f f 7' at one or both ends of the machine, these gears being actuated by a motor 9 or otherwise.

The hinging of the movable portions or flaps o a is effected by annular or semicircular projections 72 at each side of blocks i'which' form the inner ends of arms or stiffening brackets 2' extending across the undersides of the flaps and arranged side by side (see Fig. 2) at intervals along them. Carried by the center frame or bed j of the machine, under the middle or hinge part of the table, are a series of supporting blocks alternating with the blocks 2". They have corresponding annular grooves h in their side faces to receive the annular tongues or part-hoops 72,. These grooved blocks 7' act as guides for the curved tongues 7b on the blocks 2', and the two sets of blocks constitute the hinges for the table.

The arrangement may conveniently be such that a projection or tongue h of one flap fits laterally into the groove 7L at one side of a block, while that of the other flap fits into the other side. This construction gives a distributed support all along the bar.

are considerably raised, and the resulting pressure on the Work between them tends to force their adjacent edges apart.

Without the positive engagement of the.

hoop-like or U-shaped pieces in the grooves of the supporting blocks 3' there would be considerable risk of the middle edges of the table springing or being forced apart in the manner referred to, when in or near its extreme position, and the machine might be damaged.

In order to allow the spacing apart of the axes of the two flaps, the guide or hinge groove 71. in one side of each block may be set a little out of alinement with that in the other side. In other words the centers of the two grooves lie alternately on opposite sides of the true center line of the ma chine, which is practically just below the bottom edge line of the presser or clamping Thus as the flaps rise they allow a corresponding clearance at each slde of the lower part of the said bar, betweenthe'bottom tip of the bar and the adj acentedge of the flap. The hinge block seen in Fig. 1 is a section on the line l'1 of Fig. 2.

r In some machines only one flap may be movable, the other being stationary.

Moreover the projecting tongues may be arranged on the blocks 7' and the grooves be in the blocks 2' or partly in one and partly in the other. 1

By varying the height of the presser bar I) the natureof the bend can be altered. Thus if the presser is in its lowest position a sharp angle or corner is formed in the bentplate, whereas if it is raised, the bend acquires an easy curvature.

It will be seen that a gap or space is left between the inner edges of the flaps, and as these edges ought to coincide with the centers of the hinges, the said gap therefore equals the, amount by which the two sets of hinge blocks are out of line.

The gap serves to give the necessary space around the bottom edge of the presser rail when the flaps are raised, thus avoiding jamming-0r strain. The width of said gap is slightly more than double the thickness of the stoutcst work the machine is intended to deal with. It also serves to receive any scale or pieces that may drop from the plates, which otherwise might damage the i machine if the edges met closely.

To further prevent strains on the machine, means may be provided for automatically cutting off the driving power either when the table flaps are raised or when they Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

are returned to their exact horizontal DOSltion again, or at both of these times.

This may be done for example by spring actuated belt shifters, or if the drive is an electric one,'by interlocked cut-out switches,

one of which acts when at the end of the or for like purposes, the combination of a frame, a stationary V-shapcd presser-bar having its ends supported in said frame, two flaps adapted to fold down'into line with each other, 'stationaryhinge blocks distributed at intervals along the bed of the machine and arranged alternately with movable blocks distributed along the flaps, a

rigid supportingbarcarrying said station-' ary hmge blocks, projectingannular tongues on certain of said blocks engaging in a11nular' grooves in the other blocks, toothed quadrantsof equal diameter secured below the flaps and toothed gearing for raising and lowering said vflaps, substantlally. as described. V

2. In a machine for bending metalsheets, the combination of a frame, a' stationary adjustable presser bar, hinged flaps mounted in said frame but with a gap between their adjacent edges, the alternate hinges being centered slightly toward opposite sides of the axis of the machine, toothed vquadrants of equal diameter secured beneath the flaps for raising and lowering the flaps, and gearing for operating said quadrants, snbstantially as described.

stationary bar arranged on edge midway 3. In a machine for bending metal sheets,

above the gap between the adjacent edges of said flaps, hinges distributed along said flaps with their centers toward opposite 7 sides of said bar, a rigid central bar arranged lengthwise below the flaps to carry the fixed parts of said hinges, toothedquadrants of equal diameter secured below the flaps, and pinio-ns for operating said qua-d rants, such pinions being driven at equal speeds from one and the same train of wheels, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HENRY FREDERICK FARRAR SEDGWIGK.

Washington, I). C. 

